Diocese of Rome

The Diocese of Rome is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Rome, founded in the 40s AD by Saint Peter and Saint Paul (who wrote the Epistle to the Romans before visiting Rome for the first time). The diocese was originally a regional administrative district of the Roman Empire which was created during Diocletian's reforms during his reign from 293-305 AD. Following the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, the Christian Church was legalized, and it created dioceses in every Roman province; these existed until the late 5th century. The Roman diocese survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire and existed until the Byzantine invasion in 535 AD, being preserved under the Ostrogothic Kingdom. In 554, the vicariate was briefly revived before being abolished by the invading Lombards in 568.